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Jewrotica, A New US-Based Website Dedicated to Jewish Sexuality

New US-based Web site dedicated to Jewish sexuality

By Michael Wuliger on December 25, 2012 [Jüdische Allgemeine] (Translated from the original German)

In contrast to many Christian denominations, sex in Judaism is not considered fundamentally sinful, and permitted merely for the sake of procreation – a necessary evil. To the contrary: within marriage (but only there!) sexuality in its many varieties is not only allowed but also considered a mitzvah – a positive obligation.

Consequently, the recent addition to the internet of the American site called “Jewrotica” is not an exercise in irony. Founder Ayo Oppenheimer considers her project part of the Jewish mainstream, a “combination of kodesh and chol”, of the sacred and the everyday life. But in doing that, she does not have an advice site on his mind. Such sites already exist, predominantly the one by doyenne Ruth Westheimer.

Dating Scene: Jewrotica instead aims to dedicate itself to erotic Jewish literature and reflections, “stories that address the sexual tension in the frum community,” just as much as those that focus on “the dynamics, complications, and eccentricities within the Jewish dating scene.”

Yet Jewrotica’s ‘stories’ do not only denote literary fiction. There is also room for halachic and other debates on this topic. Users may share their own, true (?) erotic experiences under the category titled “True Confessions.” In addition, there are supposed to be workshops, panels, and events.

Jewrotica went online about two weeks ago, on 12th October. The first contributions dealt with topics as varied as sex with Palestinians in Israel, the prohibition of pre-marital physical contact of any kind (shomer negiah) among Orthodox, one-night-stands, masturbation, vibrators within marriage, and of course the classic: relationships with goyim and how to hide those from one’s parents.

The range of topics covers anything from decidedly factual texts to, let’s say, rather stimulating ones, classified on the site according to American film ratings. PG-13 roughly corresponding to [the German] FSK 12, R to FSK 18, XXX, thus requiring no further explanation.